The two sparred over everything from where the market’s going to the role of the individual investor. At one point, Wien even took a shot at rival Merrill Lynch – noting that the firm has underperformed the market precisely because of its bearish outlook.

A bullish Wien set the scene with his prediction that the U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, would grow by at least 20 percent in the first half of 1999, in part because “the U.S. economy is too good.”

But Bernstein shot down that idea, calling the market overvalued, earnings projections overstated, and expectations for a series of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve overblown.

The two men clawed at each other – figuratively – throughout the 90-minute luncheon presentation, and there was no mistaking that the messages were in direct conflict.

Wien got an appreciative laugh from the audience when he said: “There are no bears at this table,” right after Bernstein laid out his case for economic and profit recession.

Wien then helpfully pointed out that any investor who followed Merrill Lynch’s bearish calls for the past few years would have missed out on the greatest bull market in history.

And after Bernstein pointed an accusing finger at individual investors, whom he blamed for the speculative run-up in Internet stocks, Wien praised small investors.

“I think institutional investors could learn from the recent behavior of individual investors,” said Wien. “They’ve stepped in and bought on every dip, sometimes aggressively. When every hedge fund manager was shorting America Online, the individual was buying and kept buying and eventually stripped the pants off the hedge fund managers. You’d be surprised at the degree of sophistication individual investors exhibit today.”